Maupay Nga Gabi (Good Evening)!
It's been a rather eventful weekend for me so I felt it worth sharing with everyone. First however, I promised in my last post that I would demonstrate my advanced level of spoken Waray Waray language. So firstly it's worth mentioning that there are many spoken dialects throughout the Philippines due to the geographical make-up of the country and the fact that it spans over thousands of small islands. The national language is Tagalog but in Tacloban they speak Waray Waray, which literally translates as 'nothing nothing.'
Most people here speak English to a reasonable standard, however without basic Waray vocabulary you would struggle. So here are a few of the words and phrases that I have picked up:
Oh oh - Yes
Deri - No
Maupay Nga Aga - Good Morning
Alion - Please
Salamat - Thank you
Pasahe - Fare (Used when you pay for your jeepney rides)
Para - Get off (Used to request that the driver lets you off the jeepney)
Sukli - Change (Used to demand your change when the Jeepney driver doesn't give it to you)
Ako Balik Bois - I'll be back tomorrow (I say it each day when I leave the RRCY)
Maupay Nga Shoot - Good shot (Basketball!)
Deri Ako Ma'aram - I don't understand
I've got a few more, but you get the general jist.
O.k so on to my eventful weekend. Well it began friday afternoon when I walked 16km (10 miles) for no particular reason. Hazel has began teaching dance at the RRCY every thursday and friday morning, so on her first visit, she suggested the idea of walking all the way home one day. I wasn't really sure how far it would be. The jeepney rides usually last about 30-45 minutes depending on traffic - but again, I'm not really sure how fast Jeepneys travel so I wasn't able to figure out whether walking all the way home was a wise idea or not. Regardless, we decided to complete the walk on friday. 4 hours later, we arrived home. We walked at a rather leisurely pace so I reckoned on it being 8-10km. When I plotted it out on a map, it turned out to be 16km - needtheless to say, everyone thought we were insane!
The next day, a few of us decided to take a weekend trip to visit Matt and Madri in Ormoc, another town situated 2-3 hours from Tacloban. Originally, it was just Hazel, James and myself however, Connie, Ilonga and Ingrid decided to come with us very last minute which made it into quite the road trip! We caught a van from downtown Tacloban which took us straight to Ormoc. On arrival, we found our hotel and met Matt and Madri. We went out for dinner and a few drinks and enjoyed our new surroundings having not left Tacloban since arriving a month ago. In addition, having aircon and a TV in our hotel room was beyond amazing.
The next day, we woke late and had breakfast. The three girls had planned to go home, while James fancied staying another day in Ormoc to watch a cock fighting match with Matt. That left Hazel and I to do as we pleased. We took another van and headed North to Biliran, a separate Island. The ride took us about 2 hours and we were dropped off at a resort that we had researched named Chamorita. The resort was in the middle of nowhere, situated on the coast of the island with views that were flawless - it truly felt like our own little paradise. We checked into a room and decided to go venturing. This is where it gets interesting.
We began by jumping on the back of a moped and getting a ride to the local town of Naval, about 8km away. Though it sounds dangerous and a bit unsafe, this is actually the standard way of getting around Biliran. We arrived in Naval and booked ourselves a van to take us back to Tacloban the following day. We then found a quiet spot for lunch before speaking to the two ladies who had served us our food, about possible things to do with our afternoon. They suggested going on a bit of an adventure and seeing some of the local scenery. So we jumped on the back of another moped and were treated to a wonderful tour with the most beautiful sites. We stopped off and took a few photos of the nearby rice fields before arriving in a small village. Here we met another local guy who took us on a short hike to some falls. After the amuesment of watching Hazel slowly negotiate her way through this rather unmarked trail, we arrived at this sound, picturesque waterfall formation. We spent a bit of time swimming and cliff jumping and just as we got out, ready to head back it began to rain a little. Not to fear, we hiked back, taking a slight detour to see a giant swinging bridge and we then rode the moped back to Chamorita. After drying off, we spent the evening having dinner, watching a movie and enjoying our tranquil paradise.
The next morning, we again woke late and decided to go canoeing for a short while, before returning to Tacloban. Unfortunately, I managed to capsize my canoe and I'm still uncertain as to whether the camera has survived it's encounter with the ocean. After grabbing lunch, we met the van to take us back to Tacloban. It was a truly wonderful weekend, with some views that sum-up everything that I love about the Philippines.
We're now back in Tacloban and yet again there are more volunteers who have arrived. So now I am off to spend the evening getting to know the new faces and introducing them to life in Bliss.
Speak soon,
Much love!
Sam
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